Latch



A. GAGNON.

LATCH,

APPLmArIoN FILED FEB. 24, 1919A Patented May 3, 1921.,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER GAGNON, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T0 FISHER BODY CORPO- RATION, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

LATCH.

Specication of Letters ,Patent Patented May 3, 1921.

Application led February 24, 1919. Serial No. 278,731.

To all Iwhom it may concern Be it known that I, ALEXANDER GAGNON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Latches, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to automobile door latches and comprises a latch assembly with an inside handle having a pivoting somewhat removed from the bolt so that the handle may serve the double function of both opening the latch and also as a fpull-to handle.

In automobile body construction it has been customary in the past to employ a lever handle which has considerable length and is pivoted below the latch bolt and swings through a segment cut in the door ordinarily just below the window or through a slot in the top of the'door section. Ac companying such handles there has usually been what is known as a pull-to handle, that is, a separate xture attached to the inside of the door just below the top of the door section so that one may grasp the fixture to pull the door closed. The lever handle of the latch has not been appropriate for this purpose as it is only desirable to have a small knob as the top of the lever swings through a considerable arc.

Furthermore, this conventional handle heretofore described is very diiicult to operate from the front seat as it has to be pulled backward and the portionthat may be grasped is rather small to get a good secure hold upon.

It is the object of the present latch assembly to aiford a latch handle which can be located in the customary place for a latch inside handle and yet will be very easy to operate and may be used both as a latch handle and also as a pull-to handle. This not-onlly-1does away with one extra fixture but it also enables the door to be conveniently pulled shut and latched without slamming by the application of one hand without lifting the hand from one fixture to another.

In the drawings,-

Figure 1 is an inside view of a closed body showing the improved latch in position, the major portion of the latch being shown in dotted. lines.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the latch assembly.`

Fig. 3 is a top elevation of the same.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation or edge view.

Fig. 5 is a section through the case showing how the handle is mounted.

Fig. 6 is an actuator attached to the handle bushing. y

In automobile body construction the outside and the inside handles have to be llocated diiferently for the convenience of the operator. In one case he is standing on the ground and in the other he is somewhat elevatd. It has, therefore, been customary to place the outside of the handle almost on a level with the bolt itself, while the inside handle, or at least the portion that is grasped, is just below the top of the door in an open touring car and just below the window in a closed body. As explained above, the customary handle has been a long lever protruding through a segmental slot on the inside of the door or a slot in the top of the door section and pivoted below the latch bolt. v

Instead of employing an inside lever of this character, we employ a member a more in the nature of a handle. This handle is formed with a curved-in outer end so it may be easy to hatng on to this and the hand not slip off in using this handle to pull the door shut in place of the extra fixture that has heretofore been used for this pur-- pose. In fact, this handle is much the same shape as the conventional pull-to fixture, which has usually been a piece of hardware fastened at each end to the door and then curved out to form a hand loop by which the door may be pulled shut.

Instead. of this handle a being pivoted to swing on a large arc and pivoted below the .latch bolt, it is' pivoted just below the top of the door section. The handle is provided with a spindle which has a few screw-threads b and a squared portion c. Over this squared portion fits a handle bushing d from the inside of the latch case e. A threaded collar a: runs on the threads of the bushing d and locates the handle .spindle in the latch casing e. A union nut f of the Spanner type is adapted to be run on to the threads of the handle spindle and also the threads of the bushingd. This assembles the handle to the bushing, which has a. pair of round portions f h. z' is a lug struck out of the face of the casing to act as a stop for the actuator arm k.

Within the casing is also pivoted an interconnecting lever j with a torsional spring c pressing against the arm to tend to keep the actuator arm against the stop z' and prevent rattling. Z is the usual latch bolt suitably guided in the latch casing. In the face of the casing is cut out a slot m through which a few drops of oil may be introduced in thegroove 'n of the latch bolt. This latch bolt is provided with two integral upstanding arms p and o. rlhe forward one is adapted to be wiped by the actuator arm g on the outside handle spindle w and the rear one p is adapted to be wiped by the lower end of the interconnecting lever j. The latch bolt is recessed on the inside at r to receive the upper end of the torsional spring s which tends to keep the bolt head projected. The outside handle is designated t.

What claim is:

1. A latch, having in combination, a casing, a bolt slidable therein, a spring for projecting the bolt, an outside handle having a connection with the bolt and located near to the plane in which the bolt slides, and an inside handle pivoted to the casing at a point somewhat remote above the plane in which the bolt slides, said inside handle being in the form of a' narrow bar curved in at its free end and pivoted at its extreme end and when in the position of non-action plane, and an interconnecting lever between the inside handle and the bolt pivotally supported in the casing and of a character to reverse the movement of theinside handle when applied to the bolt, whereby the said inside handle may be used as a pull-to handle for a carriage door.

2. A latch having in combination a casing, abolt slldable transversely thereof near the lower end of the casing, a spindle rotatably supported on the lower portion of the latch casing immediately adjacent the bolt, an actuator on the inner end of said spindle adapted to engage against a portion of the bolt to retract the same, a second spindle rotatably supported in the upper end of said casing at a point remote from said sliding bolt, an actuator attached to the inner end of said spindle, a handle secured to the outer end of the second spindle in the form of a long arm, curved in at its free end and operating in a vertical plane, an interconnecting lever pivoted midway its ends in the casing, one end engaged by the actuator of the second spindle and the other end engaging a portion of the bolt to retract the same, and yielding means contained within the casing for normally keeping the bolt projected.'

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand on the 17th day of February, 1919.

ALEXANDER GAGNON. 

